Maryland fired coach Mike Locksley on Wednesday, ending his tenure in College Park with a 39-54 mark. The Terrapins posted three consecutive winning seasons from 2021-23 but went 10-21 over the last three years and won just two Big Ten games since ’24. Co-defensive coordinator Aazaar Abdul-Rahim is the interim coach for the remainder of the year.
Recruiting talent was never an issue for Locksley. However, despite some patches of success, the program never took a major step forward in the Big Ten. The challenge for the next coach is to continue to maximize the program’s fertile recruiting territory into better on-field results and work to grow the resources around NIL and the transfer portal.
Who could replace Locksley at Maryland? Here are a few names to watch in the search:
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9 Coaching Candidates to Replace Mike Locksley at Maryland
Jake Dickert, Head Coach, Wake Forest
Considering Dickert’s success at Washington State (23-20) and now Wake Forest (14-5), any open job at the power conference level could feature his name in the rumor mill. The Wisconsin native has thrived at getting the most out of his rosters and adapting to the transfer portal era.
Jason Eck, Head Coach, New Mexico
Eck is considered one of college football’s top rising stars in the Group of 6 coaching ranks. The former Wisconsin offensive lineman went 26-13 at Idaho from 2022-24 and is 14-5 through two years at New Mexico.
Bryant Haines, Defensive Coordinator, Indiana
Haines is one of college football’s top defensive coordinators and was instrumental to Indiana’s national championship run last season. The Ohio native has no head-coaching experience but gained valuable experience in the region while working under Curt Cignetti at James Madison.
Charles Huff, Head Coach, Memphis
Huff worked as an assistant at Maryland in 2009 and also had a stint in the Big Ten as an assistant at Penn State under James Franklin from 2014-17. Memphis is 5-2 in Huff’s first season, and the Maryland native has been a winner from stops at Marshall (32-20 from 2021-24) and Southern Miss (7-5 in ‘25).
Brian Kelly, Former LSU Head Coach
Could Kelly’s name pop up in searches this offseason? Although Kelly’s tenure at LSU ended in dismissal, he’s still accumulated over 300 career wins counting stints at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and in Baton Rouge with the Tigers.
Jeff Monken, Head Coach, Army
Could this be the offseason where Monken finally gets a chance to run a power conference program? He’s 93-65 at Army, including a 12-2 record during the ‘24 season. Monken also went 38-16 at a previous stint at Georgia Southern. His background in running the option and how that would evolve at the power conference level would be a question mark in this search.
Dan Mullen, Head Coach, UNLV
Could Mullen return to the power conference coaching ranks this offseason? He went 69-46 at Mississippi State from 2009-17 and guided Florida to a 34-15 record from 2018-21. Although Mullen’s tenure in Gainesville ended with a firing, he’s off to a 14-7 start at UNLV and still among the nation’s best at developing productive offenses.
Mike Shanahan, Offensive Coordinator, Indiana
Both Indiana coordinators could emerge as options in this search. Shanahan is the offensive mastermind with Cignetti behind a unit that’s ranked among the best in the nation for three straight seasons. Shanahan has no previous head-coaching experience.
Lance Taylor, Head Coach, Western Michigan
Taylor is one of college football’s rising stars in the head-coaching ranks and seems primed to run his own power conference program soon. The former Alabama receiver is 25-21 over four seasons at Western Michigan, including a 10-4 record with a MAC title last year. Taylor has also garnered a wealth of experience as an assistant from stops at Notre Dame, Louisville, Stanford and in the NFL with the Jets and Panthers.
